lifestyle

Thrifting Markets: Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Or Hidden Trash?

Thrifting is a fashion trend that has long been present in Indonesia. According to a GoodStats survey conducted in August 2022 with 261 respondents, 49.4% of them had thrifted. This demonstrates the widespread interest in thrifting among the public. 

This trend is popular in Indonesia not only because it's economical and on the rise, but also because thrifting is a way to reduce the amount of fast fashion clothing waste. But what is the reality? 

The Thrifting Market System 

The pandemic has led to a boom in online thrift stores. Papap Shop is one such shop that sells on the social media platform TikTok. Ahdi, the owner of Papap Shop, has been using TikTok since he first started his business, although he also uses Shopee and occasionally WhatsApp for transactions. 

He chose not to open a brick-and-mortar store because it would incur additional rental costs. He now uses his office and residence as a studio for his live TikTok sales. 

Papap's live shopping system consistently features new clothing in each live stream to keep up with TikTok's fast-paced flow. If an item sold in a previous live stream doesn't sell, it's offered again in subsequent ones. Or, in Ahdi's case, he sometimes sells it to his other studios. 

Due to the high interest in thrifting and to satisfy consumers' constant desire to see new things, Ahdi admits to always keeping at least 1,000 items of clothing. If the number of used items approaches 1,000, it means he needs to restock quickly. 

"I calculate it weekly, roughly 2… maybe 2 to 4 bales a week," he said. In addition to collecting weekly bales, Ahdi also regularly hunts for clothes at the Gedebage traditional market to find items he thinks he can sell for a higher price. 

With capital ranging from 4 million rupiah to 13 million rupiah, Ahdi receives 100 kg bales of imported used clothing in all conditions. Because his focus is jackets, Ahdi said there is a price difference between bales of thin and thick jackets. Thin bales of jackets are more expensive because they are more numerous, while bales of thick jackets are cheaper because they are fewer. 

The advent of online thrifting hasn't killed the secondhand clothing market. This phenomenon has actually increased market traffic due to increased interest in buying used clothing. These markets are also often used as hunting grounds for online thrifting vendors looking for clothes to resell. In Bandung itself, there is one large traditional secondhand clothing market called Pasar Cimol Gedebage. 

To continue attracting visitors and buyers, thrift vendors tend to frequently change their displays and open new bales. Each store has its own rules, but most of them regularly change their stock at least once a week. At Pasar Cimol Gedebage, some stores change their clothing stock or displays and open new bales every afternoon. Other stores also have to wait for confirmation of bal shipments from their distributors and therefore cannot open new bales immediately. 

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Tag: Lifestyle Papap Shop Thrifting Markets